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Double Bass Phil Urso.

Paul Warburton

Paul Warburton

In Memoriam
Aug 17, 2003
9,424
663
84
Denver, Co.
#1
I've gotten some requests via PM's to tell some Phil Urso stories. Below, one of my siggy's was quoted off of a radio interview that my late wife taped for me. I couldn't be there due to a gig I was doing, however, I was the co-leader on that particular gig and asked my friend Dick Hindman to go in and kind of try and help Phil not say something strange.
I first heard him here when I was in high school in about 1957 with Chet Baker, Bobby Timmons, Scott LaFaro and Larence Marable. In terms of the music, Phil was brilliant and I loved his playing. In terms of a thinking, functional brain?....nobody home.
Example:We were doing a Jazz gig here in Denver many years ago with Phil as the special guest. He and the drummer had been associates for about 20 years prior to this gig. After the second night of some pretty intense playing the drummer walked up to Phil after the last set, put his arm around Phil and said: "Phil, you sound just beautiful, man".
Phil's response?...."Well, thanks a lot.....you come back real soon and see us again". :atoz:

BTW, I got more including a trip to Europe where Phil's wife asked me to "watch out for him". I did that, but almost wanted to kill him in the process.
 
#2
That reminds me of a story Charlie Haden told us about a gig at the den Hague Jazz Festival. He was there playing with somebody else, but the promoters sounded him about doing an "all star" set led by Dizzy. How could he say no? So it's Diz, him, Joanne Brackeen on piano and (I think) Al Foster on drums. They do a few numbers and for the big finale Diz calls BLUE N' BOOGIE. Now Diz has been "at it" so he's kind of unaware that not has Joanne NOT heard the call, but doesn't really know the tune, so he stomps it off. Festivals being what they are, you're on the stand outside in a tent and the sound guys are making sure everybody in the next country can hear you, but you can't hear the cat you're standing next to. so all Joanne is hearing is that it's a blues and she keeps playing the blues form right through the bridge and by the second chorus everything has turned to ****. Charlie can't believe it, nobody stops playing and they all tough it out to the end of the tune and off the stage. Unforgettable, right? Half an hour later Charlie sees Dizzy out in the crowd with this giant ice cream cone and so he makes for him, to say how he was trying to keep everything together on the stand and man what a drag etc. But as soon as Dizzy sees him, he let's out a big shout "CHARLIE HADEN!!! You mother****er, how are you? I ain't seen you in years!"
 
#3
Priceless.

Phil's wife, Bruna, asked me to watch over Phil on this European tour. The first big hit was in Genoa...maybe 500 people in a tight Italian concert hall. The trumpet player counts off this insane tempo and i'm trying to hold the band into some kind of focus with the time. I feel a tug on my jacket back in the section...it was Phil. He had walked all the way around the Bosendorfer piano, came into my area while I was sweating and trying to concentrate on what I was doing and yelled into my ear...."How do I sound??"
 
#5
Lookout Mountan....the first part of your clip. That was my Jazz introduction area. The Thunderbird and The Robin's Nest. Both run by my first Jazz Mentor, Ray Iverson. (do a TB search under his name if you're interested). One of my all time hero's to this day. He kicked my sad young ass into what little I've done in this music to this day.
Bless you.....
 
#7
Here's one I told a while back with a bonus Phil story attached...
I was doing a concert with Jake Hanna. (RIP, Jake). We were setting up on the stage and Jake says to me..."Who's this idiot named blank blank? You know him from Denver?" I did...... he bought the Woody Herman Band, book, name, the whole ball of wax. Kind of a tenor player millionaire person. Why? I asked Jake. He said the guy had somehow fanagled the band into playing The Academy Awards that year and decided to call it "The Woody Herman Alumni Band" under the direction of blank blank. He gets together all of the living members of the great Herd band(s) including Jake, of course. You got to know these old ***** know that book inside and out, didn't need chart one and most just sat there in rehearsal with their legs crossed having a swell old time together. This guy decides he's gonna "conduct". His hands are trembling and he's sweating up a storm up there on a podium. They call a break in the rehearsal and the guy thinks if he tells a personal story about himself and Woody it might make him relax and maybe fit in with these guys a bit better.
He says to all these heavies..."I was talking to Woody right after he died, and......." The whole band cracks up.
Later on I had hired Phil for a gig and for some dumb reason I shared this story with him.....punch line: " I was talking to Woody right AFTER he died, and.....(big emphasis on AFTER. Phil says..."Oh, yeah? Whad he say?."
 
#9
At the beginning of that European tour I mentioned earlier, Phil's wife comes up to me at the airport and says "Please take care of Phil for me." I said I'd do my best. I have a ticket for my bass on the plane courtesy of Larry Clothier, the tour promoter and one of my best Jazz buddies on the the planet. So it's Phil, this great guitarist.... whose name I won't mention, me and my bass against the world. I tell them both before hand......."Look, we got a tight connection here to get from the National part of the airport to the International part of same. I'll go first and kind of break the way through the traffic with my bass. Stay with me...we can't get separated or we don't make our connection.....stay right there behind me and move it out. I charge outta the gate and wasn't more than a city block away, turned around to check on Phil and the guitar player....gone. I made my way back with the bass and, I'm getting a bit tired and agitated; granted, to find them in a kind of trance looking up at the ceiling in that Gazebo area.
By the end of that tour, and I will tell you the climax later, I really had some serious thoughts about trying to dump Phil somewhere.
 
#12
Next to the last installment on this tour.
Phil was multi lingual in English and Italian. However, I didn't know he was Sicilian. Need I say more? We were in Genoa on the first gig. I was stupid at the time in terms of what was happening in Italy. I just figured that it might come in handy for us in Genoa to have an Italian speaker on board to help us find our way around, so I tried to utilize him a an interpreter since Genoa wasn't like Milan or Rome, in terms of a lot of English speakers.
Also, I never thought about how weird Phil was when he spoke English, let alone how he might come off to Italians.
We went to one of those Gelato stands in Genoa. I asked Phil to order for me. The result, after a buncha screaming and yelling something about "Siciliano this and Siciliano that", the Gelato attendant jumped over the bar and chased Phil down the steet with his apron on.
I never really bothered to ask Phil what went down, but considered myself lucky to have not been involved in the confrontation.
The best is yet to come.
 
#15
I first started playing with Phil when I was about 16 after I had heard him with Chet and that great band. I adored his playing but hadn't gotten to know him well enough to know about his weirdness.
This may not work in print. I'll give it a shot, though.
Phil lived with his Mom before she brought Bruna over from Italy for a pre-planned marriage. He hired me for gigs, so I'd check in with him before. Here's a typical conversation on the phone......
I dial......Phil says Hello. I say...."Hey Phil, it's Paul. We gotta gig tonight, right?"
Phil...to his Mom: "Hey Ma! It's Paul Warburton...he's this great young bass player! He could be a good as Scotty!!!!".(Ma has no clue who the hell Scotty is).
Phil to me: "We do?"
Me...."Yeah man, I'm supposed to pick you up".
Phil to his mom....Hey MA!! Paul says we gotta gig tonight!!!!
Phil, to me: "Hey Paul, what time is the gig??"
I say: "9:00, Phil...it's your gig. You're the leader".
Phil, to his mom: "Hey MA!!!!!, I'm the leader on a gig tonight with Paul Warburton on bass!!!!. He's this great young.............
Me, interrupting"PHIL! How's about I pick you up at 8???
Phil, to his Mom....." Hey, MA!!!! Paul's gonna pick me up for this gig I'm the leader on at 8!!!!!
Phil, to me: "Hey, Paul! What do I wear???"
Me: "Dark suit, you know....like we talked about."
Phil: "Hey MA!!!!! Paul says we gotta wear a dark suit tonight on this gig that Paul Warburton says that I'M the leader on tonight at 9 that should be fun to play with Paul Warburton this great young bass...............................!!"


Anyway, like that and I swear that I'm not exaggerating.
 
#20
davpal said:
Paul W - You are one of the most entertaining and informative writers on TB - Thanks for all the contributions you make!
Click to expand...

Thanks, Man. I've been very lucky to have met and played with great artists like Phil Urso....he was Chet's favorite tenor player. He had a letter from Chet stating that and also a piece of hand written music from Bill Evans that Bill sent him giving Phil his re harms on a tune. Some people have thought of Phil in that "Rain Man" kind of brain area, but I don't think so. He was just real simple in spirit.....kind of a Blue Collar sort, except when it came to the music. He would sit at the piano before a gig and practically reinvent a tune on the spot.
When we were in Genoa I brought my Walkman and two sets of ear phones. I had just gotten into Ivan Lins and was curious what kind of take Phil would have on the way that Ivan moved his chords around. We sat in my room for over two hours without a word from Phil...his facial expressions said it all. His face would turn bright red and he would hold his breath for a long phrase in the music, then release it with the musical tension and turn almost pale. The Portuguese words were familiar enough to him, being an Italian speaker, that he could pick some of them out and when we were through listening he had the titles memorized enough to tell me what was going on in the chordal movement in each cut. He say stuff like: "Right there..... he did this and right there he did that. And, did you hear that?" Pretty much tore the whole thing apart before my eyes, right on the spot.
I was stunned at that kind of deep internalization of that music, several cuts involving a big string orchestra.

One more fun story to go and then the epic ending of the European tour where I really had some thoughts about being instrumental in the demise of Phil Urso. :atoz:
 

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